The truth about six-pack abs
With bathing suit season just around the corner, everyone seems to be focusing on toning their abdominals — and many search for a short cut to the forever sought after six-pack. While a good diet and plank variations are the only things that haven proven to be effective, many products are out on the market promising a short cut to washboard abs. However, they can often cause more harm than good.
The ab belt. This product comes in many different forms and has many different names but they are all the same. This idea: Attach wires to pads and place them on your stomach so that the electrical current can cause a contraction and this contraction will allow you to have the 6 pack you always wished for just by sitting at your desk. The old adage of if it looks too good to be true it probably is, fits perfectly here.
This is essentially a stim unit and chances are many of you have had stim in the past. Pads placed on either your back or neck or knee, etc. that deliver a tingling feeling to the area and generally cause you to feel better. Now if you turn that stim up your muscles will start to contract. If you are not able to do a contraction of a muscle on your own, like if you have ACL surgery and you can barely flex your quad, these pads will be placed on your knee, you will be asked to try to contract the muscle while the pads help. Most people are only on this for a few weeks at a time because once you can make a strong quad contraction the machine has served its purpose and you need to increase the exercise. You need to increase the load in order to continue to form muscle. Same is true for your abs.
There's a good chance you are able to contract your abdominals since most of you are able to sit up. Therefore, a product like the ab belt will not work for you. In order for you to form muscle you need to increase the load on the muscle. Even if you turn the stim all the way up, you are more likely to develop an electrical burn then you are to load the muscle. Planks and other ab exercises, while difficult, load the muscle and therefore can actually cause you to chisel out a 6 pack. The belt will not.
The ab roller. This tool forces you to do a plank but to move while you are doing a plank. Unfortunately, this device seems to cause a lot of back injuries because people do not maintain proper posture when they are rolling and they wind up compensating with their back muscles which causes muscle strain. But if used properly, and in combination with a good diet, the ab roller could be your way to the beginning of some in shape abdominals.
The ab rocker. With this product, you lay down and rest your head on something that supports your head and neck with your arms holding a bar overhead. These machines basically allow you to use momentum and your hips, neck and arms to do the work of your abs. You are better off just doing a crunch in your living room then purchasing one of these machines. The more involved you get other body parts, the easier it makes it on your abs. Using momentum does nothing for your abs except make it easier. And with this increased momentum comes pressure on your neck and most people wind up with neck issues before they ever see even the shadows of a six-pack.
There is no substitute, no quick fix for getting a six-pack. The video attached shows you basic exercises that you can do at home every day in order to begin to strengthen your abs. You must also realize that a strict diet is imperative if a six-pack is your goal. You cannot out plank a bad diet when it comes to your abs. The main thing you want to remember when picking an ab workout is to be safe. Many of the exercises and machines can wind up hurting you and causing you more pain and you will wind up gaining more weight not being able to work out. Start with the workout in the video and work your way up and eventually, while you may not have a six-pack, you will have really strong abs